Five in hospital after three crashes

A car is loaded on to a tow truck after a crash on Wallath Rd this morning.

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Five people are in hospital after three separate crashes last night and early this morning.

Two people were taken to Taranaki Base Hospital after a car crashed into a tree on New Plymouth's Wallath Rd about 6.45am today.

Witness Tracey McIntosh said she and another nurse who live nearby attended to the two occupants in the car.

"They are very lucky," she said.

"They had to cut the passenger out. The driver had facial injuries and had hurt his arm and knee."

Senior Sergeant Thomas McIntyre said the car had crossed the centre line and hit the tree.

"It appears the driver was intoxicated at the time," he said.

Last night two people were taken to Wanganui Hospital after two cars collided on State Highway 3, near Waitotara, about 5.20pm.

"One had moderate injuries and one had minor injuries," a St John spokeswoman said.

Another person was taken to Taranaki Base Hospital with moderate injuries after a crash at the intersection of State Highway 3 and Vickers Rd, Waiwhakaiho, about 10.20pm.

There were also four crashes on Taranaki roads on Saturday which left a woman dead and two people in hospital.

A 45-year-old Okato woman died on the side of the road when her motorcycle crashed near Opua Rd around 11am.

Passing motorists and emergency services administered CPR for more than half an hour but failed to save the woman.

At the time, the Opunake ambulance was delivering a 24-year-old Opunake man with arm injuries to Taranaki Base Hospital after his car hit a concrete wall at the corner of State Highway 45 and Arawhata Rd around 9:30am.

Around 5:45am a 19-year-old male was taken to hospital with moderate head injuries after crashing into a brick fence between Rata St and Nikau Pl in Hawera.

At 4am a woman fell asleep at the wheel of her car on the Tangahoe bridge and crashed into a culvert, but was uninjured.